A croc in the hand is worth two in the jungle

How’s this for a great grandpa moment …. zooming in with the trusty old Nikon as Grandson Finnigan, 5 going on 30, holds a year-old crocodile in the palm of his hands and beams for all he’s worth.

This was after he had tickled the tail of a 35-year-old, five-metre-long croc with gaping jaws. This was under the watchful eye of the croc’s minder, a young veterinary student doing a practicum at El Cora Crocodile Sanctuary just south of Bucerias.

As tourist attractions go El Cora is pretty run down. It languishes in croc and snake-infested jungle at the end of about four kilometres of bad dirt road and can only be reached by taxi. A one hour tour costs $200 pesos a head and it is worth every peso.

You will see much more than crocs … coati mundi, macaws, turtles, iguanas, mangrove swamps.